Paving The Way
by LilyGhost
Summary: Finished with a capture that went as planned, Stephanie and Tank's afternoon faces a brief roadblock. A Tank POV story.
1. Chapter 1

**All characters belong to Janet. The mistakes are mine alone. Lots of Tank and a Boerboel ... _Happy Birthday_ a few days early, ShellSueD! **

"What the fuck?"

Hearing me speak more than one syllable inside the vehicle is a strange enough occurrence for Stephanie to stop rooting around her box of chicken nuggets, looking for the biggest ones to eat first, and follow my stare aimed through the windshield and at what I'd stopped the SUV for.

I'd admit it to no one except Ranger, who understands, the Happy Meal that contained the six-piece box of nuggets had been my bribe to get Steph to let me enter the home of the FTA we were after ahead of her. I trust her to do her job, and do it quickly and effectively since she finally agreed to some basic training. But still feeling residual aches from the time she and I almost got blown up in the Pine Barrens, I'd do anything to avoid Ranger ever worrying again about her on my watch. Even purposely order a fucking kid's meal full of shit _no one _should eat, let alone children or your best friend's life preserving-partner.

"That's either the muscliest dog I have ever freakin' seen, or you Rangeguys have finally figured out how to shape-shift," Steph said.

"It's a dog. A Boerboel, or South African Mastiff, if I'm correctly remembering the show I was watching on the most powerful dog breeds. They were bred as guard dogs to protect farms against lions."

"So it's half dog/half Hulk."

Despite trying to maintain my stoic protector vibe, I felt myself almost grinning. No wonder Ranger found himself more than dick-deep in love with her. She does make a day better and can force a smile against our better judgments.

"He's black not green, so not exactly Hulk. But he's one hell of a powerful dog. Why's he just standing in the road?" I asked myself more than her.

Not being a man who kills time and brain cells with pointless small talk, Steph pounced on the opportunity for a conversation with me.

"I don't see a collar," she told me, her nose almost flattened against the glass of the windshield at this point. "Look at that! He just sat his butt down like he owns the frickin' road. Hmmm ... he's obviously a he, has more muscles than one body needs, is wearing an all-black coat, and he appears to have just decided that we're not moving until he's ready for us to. He _HAS _to be _a RangeGuy!_"

"He'd better move. I ain't got all day."

She smiled so wide, I had to fight myself not to match it. "The fries are getting to you, aren't they, Tank?" She asked, holding up the carton of crap and shaking it too close to my face. "You're trying to escape the tempting smell of them before you cave and provide me with teasing rights for the next six months. Admit it, I'm right."

"No," was all I would give her.

She claimed that as a victory until I revved my engine hoping to make the dog move and get out of my way.

"You _are_ _not_ going forward until he goes along on his way, so stop with the engine-revving."

"You got a better idea? I could ..."

"You're not allowed to shoot him or run over him, either!" Steph ordered me.

My respect for her grew. I know she would've bravely told me to back off even if she weren't Ranger's woman. Saving all life is important to her. She can scare the shit out of us seventy percent of the time with just a 'watch me' grin and an over-the-shoulder finger wave, but she's a soft touch when it comes to animals, kids, and abandoned birthday cakes.

"I'm a cat guy, but that doesn't mean I'd shoot a dog for not being a cat. I just wanna get back to the Rangeman building and turn you safely over to Ranger again."

"Someone's scared of his best friend."

"If your best friend is Ranger Manoso, you'd be stupid not to be respectfully-terrified of the man."

"You have a point," she said, as she unbuckled her seat belt and reached for the handle of the door.

"What the fuck are you doing? You're not going ..." I bit out, trying to grab her wrist before she made it out of the vehicle.

It takes Ranger two hours to get her up every morning, but she can haul ass whenever you want her to sit still.

"Don't approach him, Stephanie," I ordered in a calm voice so I wouldn't spook either of them while I positioned my body to take the bite if the dog lunged at her. "You don't know what he'll do."

"I know exactly what he'll do when confronted with some fast food," she told me, before holding out a chicken nugget. "Are you hungry, big guy? Having a bad day? These always make me feel better. You can have one or all of them if you want." She laughed as a nugget disappeared into the jaws of death before she'd even stopped speaking. "Awww, a dog after my own heart. I only have four more, so you're going to have to pace yourself a little."

I had put my hand on my gun to take immediate action if needed, but despite the size and strength of the breed, this member of it seems only interested in eating a mid-day meal, not turning my partner into his new chew toy.

"See that?" Steph asked me. "He _is _exactly like you guys. He looks all big and scary on the outside, but is a complete marshmallow on the inside."

I wanted to deny it, but like unsuspecting dominos … one by one the men fell under her carefree, _the-world's-actually-good _spell. The canine-equivalent to her quickly finished the poultry by-products and rolled over to get a belly rub in the middle of a typically busy street.

"Steph, don't push it," I told her, when she looked like she was going to attempt to pet him.

"We're good. Aren't we, dog with no name that I can see?"

A horn blew, causing everyone but me to jump. I'd heard the car turn our way a hundred feet ago.

"What do we do?" Steph asked me.

"See if he'll follow you a little closer to the shoulder of the road and I'll wave the asshole around."

I kept one eye on her and the other on the car with the too-impatient driver wanting to get nowhere fast instead of just waiting a fucking second. By the time I had turned my attention fully back to our current situation, Steph was already trying to lure the dog into the SUV.

"We can't put him in there," I said as carefully as if I were in the process of defusing a bomb.

She paused and put two hands on her hips. Anyone who knows her understands that _now _would be the time to protect your balls.

"Why not? We can't just leave him here. Someone could hit him. It doesn't look like he has owners handy. We aren't exactly near a big tourist hangout for him to have just wandered away from his family." She paused and looked at me. "Do I need to call Ranger to get his permission for you to do the right thing here?"

She has a way of making you feel guilty for doing things you have no reason to feel guilty for.

"No. I know he'll approve this relocation when you put it like that to him."

"_See _… there's a reason you're my favorite Merry Man."

"I thought Hal was your favorite?" I surprised myself by saying.

"He was my favorite yesterday for offering to make sure Grandma got home from bingo okay. _Today _you're my favorite."

"Both for doing what you want."

"You know me better than that, Tank. All of your Rangeguys are my favorite for being prime examples of what real men are supposed to be ... sweet, loyal, brave, and every one of you have a conscience that likes to remain clear."

"Ranger really is lucky."

"That's what he says, but we all know the truth. _I'm _the lucky one. Hopefully this guy will feel the same way."

She went around to the back door on the passenger's side and opened it, reaching into the front seat to retrieve her fries.

"Come on, big guy. Do you want a fry? There's more where this comes from if you hop on in and don't bite Tank."

"That's not funny, Steph. It's a real possibility."

"No it isn't. He and I will both behave."

"You're staying in the front seat. No arguments."

"Fine, but can I hold onto your gun for the drive so you don't feel tempted to use it?"

"No."

She risked grease stains to the upholstery and dumped a few fries onto the backseat. I noticed that she also added the apple slices just so she won't have to eat them. And then she poured some of my bottled water into her already empty, except for ice, soda cup. When he jumped in and immediately turned the backseat into a fucking car wash, we shut the doors and proceeded on our way back to Rangeman. The second round of 'traffic' backing up behind us had been more considerate once they realized a rescue was taking place.

Steph flipped between staring at the rear view mirror and turning her body towards the backseat, though both views remained the same. The dog was sitting up on her side of the car and looking out the side window. If I didn't know better, I'd swear he was gloating over at every car we passed.

"Maybe you should put the window down a little for him," Steph suggested. "Bob always enjoyed that."

"Bob isn't a dog. He's a digestive tract with feet."

"True, but he still liked feeling the wind blowing through his fur."

"This one has a short coat," I pointed out even as I lowered the window so she'd let it go.

"Was that so hard?"

"Yes. So quit with the 'suggestions' while you're ahead," I warned her.

"What suggestions should Stephanie stop giving you?" Ranger was suddenly asking.

I looked at my partner with even more respect. She had Ranger on the line without me seeing when she'd put in a call to him.

"Your woman has a way _of getting her way," _I carefully answered.

Piss off Stephanie, and you'll pay repeatedly. Piss off Ranger, and you'll suffer permanently. There's no winning unless both of them are happy with you.

"No shit," Ranger said back. "What did she make you buy for lunch?"

"A Happy Meal with nuggets instead of a burger. I even had to go into the place to get it since the Drive-Thru was backed up into next week."

I could see his shit-eating grin in my mind. "You got off easy," I was told.

"That's what I thought ten minutes ago, but round two was just waiting to punch me."

"That's why I called," Steph told him. "We were on our way home from dropping Halken off at the TPD, and a little puppy was sitting in the road in front of us like he was waiting for us to come along and rescue him."

"He's not little," I corrected. "And he's not _a puppy_. He's a full-grown Boerboel. He can probably bench press more than Santos manages."

A slight pause, which is never good when it comes to Ranger. "And there were no issues?"

"Only that Steph decided to make friends with him and lure him into our vehicle with chicken nuggets and fries."

I can tell his mood suddenly changed. "You still hungry, Babe?"

"Yeah. I sacrificed my Happy Meal to make the dog happy. We're about five minutes out. Are you okay with us ..."

"_You_," I corrected.

"Fine, you big baby. Are you okay with _me _bringing home an overgrown sweetheart, plus a dog? I couldn't leave him there. I'd be awake all night wondering what happened to him and fearing it wasn't something good. And you know what I'm like when I'm sleepy but wide-eyed and worried."

"I'll meet you in the garage and we'll go from there," the Boss said, which is exactly what I predicted to hear from him.

The look I shot Stephanie said as much.

She ignored me and focused on Ranger. "I love you. I knew you'd understand why I couldn't just abandon him and conveniently forget that I did."

"Don't get too attached to him," he advised.

"Too late. People told me the same thing about _you_, and that's worked out pretty good. So I'm feeling hopeful about this."

"We've worked out better than good. I'm already waiting."

"Gotcha. We're turning onto Haywood now. We'll see you in a sec. Okay, Mr. No Name," she said towards the backseat, "when you see a hot guy with a killer grin and sexy scent, just do that belly rub thing again and you'll be in."

I drove through the gate Ranger had fobbed open for us and parked before responding to her comment. "I hate to break this to you, Steph, but the only belly exposure Ranger responds to is _yours_."

She glared at me before getting out and releasing the hulk-hound. Only after did she sock me in the arm for my observation. The dog didn't react well to his chicken-supplier being annoyed with someone. He sat between us at her feet and growled my way.

"I changed my mind. I like him," Ranger said, walking over to us. "He reminds me of myself when someone has pissed my Babe off. What did you do, Tank?"

"I was trying to up _his_," she said towards the dog-head she was petting in order to calm him down, again not unlike what she does with Ranger, "chances of becoming one of us, but Tank said you only react positively to me."

"Why would you hit him for that? He's telling the truth."

"Yeah, but you're a really good guy on top of being in love with me. You want to save and protect the innocent any chance you get. This guy's another chance."

It's been interesting to see their relationship go from mentor/mentee to a solid friendship, to something that scared Ranger in a way nothing else could. He admitted to needing Steph when he needs nothing and _No One_. Now I see why. I used to want what they have, but now I see that life is easier without it ... if one look or word can turn your diehard rules into blurry outlines. Though I still can't help but wonder what it'd feel like to have someone love me as much as Steph obviously loves The Boss.

He curled an arm around my day's partner and kissed her. Ranger does miss her whenever she's out of his sight, but I also know this is a test to see if the dog tried to come between them. Everyone knows that definitely won't be tolerated, and our canine-captee seemed to sense it. He just rested his massive skull against her leg and issued a soft whine so she would continue to scratch his ears as she gave the Boss some personal attention too.

"Congratulations. Looks like you've got yourself a boy," I deadpanned.

Again, Steph ignored me and looked up at Ranger. "We've talked about being ready to maybe get married sometime soon, so we should be able to handle having a furry boy."

"He could take your arm off if he wanted to, Steph."

"If he _had _wanted to, he would've done it by now. We had lunch together instead."

Ranger cut his eyes to me. "Get Hector to meet us upstairs. We'll start with a microchip scan to see if he has owners somewhere looking for him."

"No one was around, and there's no houses on that stretch of street," Steph told him. "He was just sitting there in the middle of our lane like he knew we were coming to pick him up."

Sensing an impending difference of opinion, I kept myself busy by calling Hector. "_Te necesitamos en cinco con el escáner,_" I told him. I listened to his assurance that he's already in motion and then I faced the trio again. "He's on his way."

"Good," Ranger said, appearing alright with giving belly rubs to four-leggers Steph approves of. "Let's go."

He whistled and the dog rolled back onto all four feet faster than Steph's eyebrows shot up. "A simple '_Come on, Boy_' would've sufficed."

"Why? When someone or something has serious potential, it's insulting to ignore it."

Steph glanced at me. "Ranger's the head of an empire for that reason," I told her.

"Jeez. Why couldn't you have been a girl?" She asked the dog. "I need some more estrogen around here."

"Estrogen my ass," I said. "You're as much of a RangeMan as every man here."

"Thank you," she replied. "I've been trying to fit in here."

"You don't have to try, Stephanie," Ranger said, getting the elevator for the four of us. "You've belonged here before there was an concrete home base in Trenton."

"You're sweet to say so. Now we just need to extend that to you saying he belongs here too."

"Scan first, then we'll talk."

We collected a crowd when we got off on five. We could hear random '_What's with the dog?_' '_What did Steph do now?_' to something similar to my original '_What the fuck?_' and Steph's '_What is that?_' from the men on duty.

"The short explanation is we were on our way back here and Tank spotted him in the road and stopped the car," Steph tried to explain.

"Cool," Bobby said. "We've been needing a dog around here."

"He even looks like he works here," Ram added. "He's huge, wears black, and enjoys the company of a pretty lady."

"That's sorta what I'd said," Steph told them. "Minus the lady part."

By then Hector had arrived and wanded the dog's neck. It's clear Steph was upset when Hector gave a name and address for whoever paid to have an ID chip implanted.

"Run it," Ranger ordered Vince.

"Do we have to?" Steph asked him.

"Yes."

Being more than efficient, Vince had results in less than two minutes. "Uh, Boss?" He began, but he shut up right after.

"What does it say?" Ranger asked, but he and I had already moved towards Vince's screen.

Three seconds of reading the asshole's history and lengthy rap sheet, and a decision was made. No one should be near this fucker, never mind returned to him.

"He's all yours, Babe."

"Really? Just like that?" She asked.

"Yes."

"What the heck did you guys read?"

"Nothing I want you to. We're going to assume he needed a better home and took it upon himself to find one. Now he has it, but he will undergo daily training so he understands who is a threat and who he's not allowed to show aggression towards."

"Sounds good to me. He definitely has to learn that Rex is a brother not a snack," Steph said, sitting down on the carpet so she could hug two-thirds of her new Rangepet. "We're happy to have run into each other, aren't we?"

The dog was too busy licking her face to answer. For such a badass-looking creature, he's as affable as Steph is.

"This is the start of a good story. We basically just stole a dog," she said to the control room. "What should we name him?"

A collective rumble went through the room as the men discussed it.

"How about Monroe?" Ram asked her.

"Monroe? Because you had/have a crush on Marilyn Monroe?"

"No. Nothing against her, cause she's hot and all, but we meant it as a nod to the Monroe Doctrine," he answered.

At her puzzled look, I explained. "You could call it an 1823 line drawn in the sand."

"Back then it was created to keep European monarchs from interfering in how we do things here. Our interpretation of it for today, and for this building, is a '_don't mess with us and we won't fuck you up_' promise," Bobby added.

"And your beast epitomizes that," Vince said. "He looks like he'll chew your ass up, but not unless you do something to provoke him."

"I can get behind that if you're speaking strictly about no one messing with anyone here. So _Monroe _he now is."

"Are you really ready for the changes we're making to our lives, Steph?" Ranger asked her.

"Yup. And if anyone has a problem with it, they can bite me right before Monroe bites them."


	2. Chapter 2

**All familiar characters are Janet's. Thanks again, ShellSueD, for sharing who would inspire Monroe. Thank you, MamaJoyce, for sharing your idea for what Ranger and Tank would consider a fun weekend ... you'll see I decided to save 'the best' for part 2. And thanks to everyone who encouraged a continuation of Monroe's story.**

**Chapter 2**

**Tank's POV**

"What's with the mood?" I asked.

Today's been planned annually for the last thirty seven years, and Stephanie seemed genuinely excited to be attending this year's competition, but the way her eyebrows, lips, and shoulders, appear to be drooping downwards, led me to believe she isn't particularly happy this morning.

"Our new roommate has taken it upon himself to guard our bedroom door every night," Ranger explained. "Steph finds the sentiment sweet, but his presence intrusive."

Judging from the way Steph's face began turning pink, his answer wasn't appreciated.

"I can literally feel him on the other side of the not-nearly-thick-enough wood. It's distracting."

I glanced down at the mass of canine muscle all but glued to the side of her leg. I tossed him a chunk of jerky I had stashed in my front pocket just so he remembers that I'm not the enemy.

"So we have _you_ to thank if the Boss accidentally kills someone or _many_ _ones_ over the next three days?" I asked Monroe.

"Ranger is going to kick major butt for like the fifteenth-year in a row," Steph answered for her mutt, "but he won't be killing anyone. I promise, he's totally relaxed and feeling _very satisfied_ with his life this morning."

"I'm surprised you'd share that particular information, Babe."

"I wouldn't normally, but Tank feels comfortable discussing my stomach's influence over on you, so it's only fair that I embarrass _him_ by admitting Monroe makes me self-conscious. But put another door and a running shower between him and us ... and I come alive."

Damn if she wasn't telling the truth about embarrassing the shit out of me. Steph's like a sister to me, and while I like her being and staying alive, I sure as fuck don't want any details about 'coming alive'. An uncomfortable shudder racked my body.

"Tank's looking a little sick ... my work here is done. I'm good to go now."

"You're an evil woman," Ranger told her.

"And you love me for it."

"I do."

"Win this competition again ... and I'll let you say those two words again in front of someone in an official capacity."

My gut tightened and apparently my demeanor changed enough to get Monroe off his ass and up on his feet in alarm.

"Better cover the goods quick, Tank," Santos called from the just-opened stairwell door. "You know how quickly dogs go after balls. What'd you do now to piss off Cujo?"

"Monroe's not a psycho dog," Stephanie told him. "He's a hunk of hound with a heart of gold."

"If his heart's so pure, why's he always giving us the stink eye and a reminder of just how many teeth he has?"

"Hmmm, could be because you're always giving me a hard time. If you haven't noticed, he kinda likes me."

"Happens to the best of us," Santos admitted. "At least Tank's currently the only one almost in need of the jaws of life to get Monroe's to release him."

He's only partially kidding. The dog moved from beside Steph to directly in front of her, still standing and still staring at me. I kept my eyes on _her_ to not trigger _him_, while keeping his body in my periphery. I swear he's still holding a grudge for me telling Steph that we couldn't take an unknown animal his size home.

"What flipped Monroe's switch?" She asked me.

"_You_ did," I informed her.

"_I did not!_"

I ignored her denial and cut my eyes to Santos, the only one besides myself and Brown who'll understand my reaction.

"Stephanie just told the Boss that she'll marry him if we win again this year," I told Lester.

His sympathy whistled through his teeth before I'd even finished speaking. "You are _sooo_ fucked, Dude. It's been nice knowing you."

"I know."

"You're typically half-dead after sixty straight hours of play, but shit _now_ ..." Lester continued.

"Can you guys stop speaking in code and tell me what I did wrong this time?" Steph interrupted to ask.

"What's going on?" Bobby asked, somewhat surprised to catch us still in the lobby and not already on the road.

"That's what I'm trying to find or figure out," Steph said to him.

"The _'detective'_ here just told Ranger she'll marry him if we take home the title again," I answered.

He gave me the same whistle and same look of pity Santos did. "We'll miss you, but do yourself a favor and shoot yourself now."

"I suggest you stop being idiots before Stephanie loses the last of her patience and gets curious to see what Monroe can really do to a human body or two," Ranger warned us.

"Marrying me is a bad thing?" Steph asked us, looking confused as well as a bit hurt.

"No, it's a fucking _awesome_ thing ... for the Boss and for us," Bobby told her.

"But Steph, Ranger is scary-intense under _normal_ circumstances, even when he considers this just a contest for fun. If getting you to be his wife is his prize, Ranger won't be interested in just winning, he's going to want to set new records for himself."

"And since Tank is his partner, whatever Ranger does and at whatever warp speed he does them, Tank is going to have to do to keep up," Lester explained. "If one guys goes down, the team is automatically eliminated."

"I'm damn good, but I'm not _Ranger Fucking Manoso_," I admitted.

She winced. "_Oh shit_. I'm so sorry, Tank. I wasn't thinking ... as usual." She looked up at Ranger. "We can table all wedding talk until it's just the two of us around to torture."

"Sorry, Babe. You said it and in front of witnesses. You can't take it back now."

I knew this moment was coming, but I wasn't expecting it to playout seconds before we were set to leave. Though, being who they are, Ranger's proposal and Steph's acceptance were completed in the time it took for him to lift up her left hand and slip a diamond rock of Gibraltar onto her finger. That sums up the differences in us. I had beef jerky stashed in my pocket to bribe the Boerboel, while Ranger had a fucking diamond in his like he was expecting this when there's no way he could've known Steph would add some major incentive for another win.

"So I'm locked into this now?" She asked the Boss.

"Yes."

She smiled and then kissed him. We heard her say "_Good to know_" into his mouth before he let her go. A round of congratulatory hugs went around between us, Bobby, Lester, plus Gene and Ram who happened to be monitoring the ground floor, and then the group thinned down to just our original four.

"We still have time to stop at Tasty Pastry, right? I'll need to keep up my strength."

"You competing instead of me?" I asked Steph.

"Nope. I'm dumb at times, but I'm not stupid. You need me at my peak to will you guys to win, which means a box of strong coffee and another one full of doughnuts. You know, if you want … I can use the doughnuts on your competition so they'll crash from the sugar all at the same time, keeping you the reigning Best Rangers."

"I appreciate the thought and the sacrifice," Ranger told her, "but these men won't veer from their training routines. I want everyone working at _their peak_ ability so I'll know that I have beat the best of the absolute best. Nothing else will be good enough."

"You do know that you've been good enough from the moment you were born, don't you?" She asked the Boss. "This contest doesn't prove that you're an amazing man, Ranger. What you do for - and bring out in - everybody everyday is what makes you so incredible."

"That's true and shit, but I still wanna win," I told Ranger, in case he needs a solid out instead of coming up with a response to words as heavy as Steph's were.

"We _will_ win again," he promised me, "because we know exactly what we're doing. My opinion of myself is a high one ..."

"_No kidding_," Steph teased from the seat behind him.

"Funny."

"It was intended to be, but go ahead and finish what you were saying."

"I always intend to excel at everything I do," Ranger continued, "but I've never let that drive define or confine me."

"Spoken like a living legend," I added.

He cut his eyes to me. "Shut up," he ordered.

I was still battling a grin as he pulled into the bakery's parking lot. He shut the engine down and got out easily. Steph had more trouble leaving the vehicle. Her mutt decided he's going with them.

"Sorry, Big Guy. You get to stay here and keep Tank company while I go inside and pick out some food for us."

I'd swear on everything holy that her 'Mufasa' shot me a '_fuck you_' look using mostly eyebrow. He turned back to Steph and tried to garner some sympathy by letting loose a pitiful whine while flashing his perfected 'puppy eyes' at her.

"I'd take you inside if I could," Steph reasoned, "but they still make the best doughnuts and I can't risk scaring my supplier beyond letting Ranger escort me in. Remember what I said, Tank probably tastes like bean sprouts, not chicken, so don't get any ideas about nibbling on him while we're gone."

"No matter how many times you make jokes like that, they still aren't amusing," I told her.

"They are to me," she replied before shutting the door.

Ranger stood by the front bumper waiting for her. Her arm was already reaching for him before she cleared the passenger's side door. She wedged her body so tightly under his arm, I could see the tips of her fingers tuck into the front pocket of his cargo pants on the opposite side of his body after she'd circled his waist.

They are a miraculous but disgusting sight. Most days I think their romance should be left in the fiction section of a bookstore. On others … they give me hope. Any hope in me died when I saw Morelli's shitbox roll up while Ranger and Steph were still inside the building.

"I hope you're hungry," I said to the mutt, who had taken Ranger's seat so he could watch for Stephanie's return. "You may get a bitter Italian snack instead of a sweet American pastry."

Monroe glanced briefly over at me, but his stare returned to the door right after. He stood at attention when Ranger pushed the glass door open for Stephanie even with his hands full of things no one else could get away with buying with him on duty.

I could see Steph's body go still when Morelli slithered their way. The indecision that goes into these encounters is tough. Half of me wants to see Ranger do to the asshole everything he's been wanting to do from day one. A quarter of me would love to shoot Joe where _he stands_ from where _I'm sitting_, though I couldn't put Steph through seeing that. And the other quarter of me would love to publicly humiliate the fucker by scaring the piss out of him.

Since Ranger has more self-control than even I do, I know he won't kill Morelli in front of Steph either, so I decided to tackle a threat using a new angle. Ranger had already put his body between Steph's and the asshole's by the time I released Monroe from the driver's side of the fleet SUV.

Ranger glanced at the dog sidling up to his woman as he shoved the bakery items at me to put in the backseat so he'll have his hands and trigger finger free if he gave into the urge to put both to use.

"You didn't think I could handle this?" He asked me when I returned.

"No question you have the situation under control. I let Monroe loose for my own amusement ... and I'm more amused than I thought I'd be."

Steph was _NOT_ pleased to see Morelli here, and Monroe is definitely not pleased that his human is annoyed. It's refreshing not to be the target of the dog's irritation for once.

"What the fuck is that?" Morelli asked, clearly feeling the heat of a Boerboel stare-down and taking a few steps back accordingly.

If the species can confront and discourage a lion, putting an arrogant idiot in his place is nothing to him. A grin appeared on my face as a direct result of Morelli's question, it being similar to my own and also the ones of more than half of the men at Rangeman.

"Why does everyone keep asking that?" Steph said, frustration making her sound even crankier than she had earlier this morning. "He's _a dog_. Mine and Ranger's dog to be exact. His name's Monroe and he likes hearing how cute he is, not people questioning what creature he is. He doesn't like it."

"Neither does our Steph in case you're so stupid, you missed her '_shut the fuck up_' tone," I helpfully added.

"You tried to get rid of Bob the first chance you got, now you're bragging about owning a dog that spends his days in a gym?"

She glanced through him towards his POS. "Bob eats car seats, like he's ignoring you to do right now. Monroe, on the other hand, lets me curl up between him and Ranger on any seat we're snuggled up on. More importantly, I was tricked into taking Bob while I fought dirty to get and keep Monroe. Maybe if you spent less time trying to cause trouble for me or Ranger, or between us, Bob wouldn't need to destroy - and then eat - everything he sees to get your attention."

"So that's why you insisted our dog come with us? For heat so you won't be cold on the sidelines?" Ranger asked, slipping his arm from Steph's shoulders to around her waist to pull her closer to him.

"Yup. He's a portable heater, pillow, and someone to talk to when you're busy kicking butt, all in one sturdy and cuddly package."

"You leaving town?" Morelli asked her.

"Yep, the four of us for a few days. So you can take a break from trying to catch one of us speeding, or sitting, or eating, or just breathing."

I looked at my watch. The fucker may have all the time in the world to waste, but we've got a plane to get our asses on.

"What's the occasion?"

"You don't wanna know, and we've gotta go," I told him.

"Who'd you kill now? Is there a file on my desk that I should just shred now because you've already disposed of the body in a place the police can't access?"

Steph reacted first, but Monroe was the first one lunging at him.

"_Oh shit!_ Monroe, it's okay. Let the jerk go. He'll give you indigestion if you gnaw on him. I forgot that I can't get mad at anyone with my nugget-buddy on guard."

"You were provoked, Babe. The asshole upset you on purpose, so he can deal with the consequences of his actions."

"I don't care about Joe, I'm worried about Monroe. I've seen what has blown out of Bob's hind end, I'm not willing to see what a chunk of Morelli DNA will do to our dog's innards. He could get infected and become a carrier for some unidentified douchebag disease."

Ranger shifted his hand enough to execute a '_let the fucker live for now_' gesture. Monroe immediately let Morelli's jacket sleeve, and likely his arm too, go and went back to Steph who wrapped an arm around both of her protectors. I know she'd put herself between me and a bullet if I were unconscious and couldn't stop her, so I didn't feel left out.

She took a deep breath, trying to keep her calm so we wouldn't get hung up on time by having to dismember Morelli before we leave Trenton.

"I know you have no idea what a real man is or how one behaves, and I should invite you along so you can be surrounded by a bunch of them and maybe get some respect beat into you in the process. But only I get to join my guys at a competition to name this year's "_Best Ranger_" to cheer Ranger and Tank to yet another victory, because you _aren't_ the best and you sure as hell aren't a Ranger. You sit in your undercover cop car eating pizza and doing waitresses, while guys like Ranger and Tank keep their skills and training up-to-date in case they're needed to protect asses as spoiled and ungrateful as yours is. You don't deserve it, and frankly I don't deserve _them_, but they know I appreciate every single one of them."

If I drank, I'd be holding up a glass saluting her. She made a clicking sound with her tongue and got Monroe up and pointed in the direction of me and our vehicle. But after she took only a step, she stopped and looked back at the asshole to deliver the killshot.

"Oh ... and I forgot the best part of the contest you wouldn't survive let alone win, I'm part of Ranger's prize this year. I told him I'd marry him right after he wins, and he put a ring on me less than a beat later." She held up her left hand to blind him now that the sun is high enough to reflect off the diamond. "You could say Monroe is also coming along to act as my engagement ring's bodyguard."

"And also to make sure _no one_ approaches you who shouldn't while Tank and I are busy," Ranger added. "If you come near Stephanie again, Morelli, Monroe eviscerating you will be the _least_ of your worries _or_ your pain. _Your_ body will be the one the cops won't be able to find."

"My hero," Steph said, giving him an appreciative hug before we left the detective in our dust.

"Not yet, Babe, but it's coming when I cross that finish line again."

**To Be Continued ...**


	3. Chapter 3

**All familiar characters are Janet's. The inevitable mistakes are mine. I did use actual challenges from what I watched in 'Best Ranger' competition videos, but I feel better saying I may have used some creative license in the arrangement of them over the 3-day event. Thanks again, MamaJoyce for the idea.**

**Chapter 3**

**Tank's POV**

"The other Army Rangers are able to run fast and expertly shoot things, but _you've _survived _me _and have made it through loving me without too many complaints," Steph told the Boss. "I can honestly say _no one _except _you _are badass enough to have accomplished something as challenging as that. I'm not easy."

"_You _may think that, but we see you differently, Steph," I told her. "You keep our instincts and firing skills finely-tuned. Keeping you alive can take as much planning and firepower as invading a small country."

"So I get a little credit for this impending win?" She asked, nudging the dog and doughnuts further into our vehicle so she could sit on the seat beside them.

"This year, _definitely_," I assured her. "You just gave the Boss one hell of an incentive to smoke everyone participating. Ranger's pace will no doubt kill me, but I'll enjoy going out as an undefeated champion."

She leaned forward and tapped Ranger's shoulder. "You _have _to make sure Tank doesn't die. He and Mary Lou are going to be our 'Best People' when we do tie the knot. So he _has _to be alive at the end of this weekend."

"I'll keep that in mind," Ranger replied, smiling as she kissed him before sitting back down.

It won't be pleasant and he'll refuse to let me quit, but I _will _survive. Ranger will never upset Stephanie if there's any way to prevent it.

We got to the private airstrip only minutes later than we were due to arrive, despite Morelli showing up at the bakery and trying to fuck things up again. What was a surprise was seeing Brown and Santos loitering outside of the hanger.

"Where were you guys?" Santos asked. "You and Ranger are _never _late. You two being together and not here on time ... we thought WWIII must've broken out or something and we hadn't been called in."

"That was my fault," Steph told him.

"It was _Morelli's _fault, Babe. Put the blame where it deserves to be shoved."

"Yeah, but I know anytime we go into the Burg, there's a chance of running into him. I'm going to have to go on a doughnut crawl through neighboring townships to find an equally good bakery so I can completely skirt around Chambersburg in the future."

"There's a Cuban bakery in Bordentown you'll like," Bobby added. "Or a Portuguese one over in Orange. Not that I've been to either. I'm just sayin'."

"What are you doing here?" Ranger asked them. "As if I couldn't guess."

"We know you planned to have some of the Miami guys pulling Plum-duty this weekend, but this is Steph's first year going to watch you compete. She should have us there to walk her through every stage of hell in real time."

"Plus, the Miami guys are good, but they aren't us ... and you're carrying precious cargo," Lester told us.

"_See? _I knew Monroe would grow on you!" Steph said to Santos.

"He was talking about _you_, Steph," Ranger told her.

"_Really? _Ummm ... thank you. For that comment and compliment ... I'm willing to share mine and Monroe's doughnuts with you guys if you're hungry."

"Don't feel too flattered," I informed them, "Steph was ready to hand those out to try to tip the odds in our favor."

Santos snorted. "Like you partnered with Ranger need the help?"

"They don't, but I wanted to feel like I'm part of this somehow, when logically I know it's all on them," she answered. "I hope you guys really are up to keeping me company. Ranger knows that I hit, curse, cry, and crush hands, when I'm nervous. I can't do any of those with Monroe, so you guys will be bearing the brunt of my '_cheering'_."

"We can take it, Steph," Lester told her. "And dibs on any Samoas you have in that box."

"I have two. And they're all yours once we get going. I'm now really anxious to see what my guys can do when it doesn't involve an SOS from me."

"Those emergency calls are getting few and far between," Ranger pointed out, pulling her to him. "Your skills have improved right along with ours."

"Yeah, but _your _skills started at the _tippy top_. So to improve more than that means you're basically _God_. I just haven't rolled in garbage in at least a year."

"All progress is worth noting," the Boss reminded her, and then he gestured for the rest of us to get our asses on board or be left behind.

During the three-hour flight, he and I went over what we've done in previous years and how we can possibly shave off some time in order to take home the title of 'Best Ranger' again this year. Bobby and Lester added their two cents whenever they felt they could offer relevant advice, and Steph sat beside Ranger leaning into him as we all discussed things she may not have understood but was fully interested in learning about.

She alternated between asking questions or for explanations when we used an unfamiliar name or abbreviation, partially distracting Ranger with a hug or an unconscious hand-slide up his leg, and petting Monroe's head whenever his massive skull rose up from the depths of the jet's carpeting to take stock of the collective mood around him.

We landed outside of Atlanta with a game plan, a renewed burst of energy, and a tunnel vision-like sense of purpose. We may not be perfect men on even a good day, but we for fuck's sake can always be perfect Rangers ... who continue to lead the way for the kids coming up behind us.

As we were putting our bags in the back of another vehicle that will be ours for the next couple of days, Steph's curiosity was piqued again.

"I was so focused on the contest itself, I forgot to ask if you found a dog-friendly hotel for us to stay in? Or if you were thinking of using the seventh floor of your Atlanta building, because though you sold it ... it stayed in the partner-family and you've just factored in the longer commute time?"

"Neither," Ranger told her. "Since this is a yearly event, and I have periodic business at Fort Benning that has nothing to do with the competition, it made sense to purchase a place near the base where I can stay whenever I need to."

"You own a house here in Georgia?" She asked after a few beats.

"Yes. A four-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath, almost three-thousand square foot home on two acres of fenced and gated land, to be exact."

"_Holy homestead, Batman! Four _bedrooms? You didn't think 'studio apartment' for a place you may only see a handful of days out of three-hundred-and-sixty-five of them?"

"Tank is my best friend, Babe, but that doesn't mean I want to live in close proximity to him. I wanted plenty of space and privacy when guests are required."

"I doubt distance from me was your sole reason for purchasing the place," I pointed out.

"Not the only reason, _no_, but it was in the top five," he replied.

Steph suddenly looked uneasy, taking extra care to make sure Monroe's leash wasn't twisted where her hand is suddenly white-knuckling it.

"Ummm, was _I _in the top five too?" She asked the Boss.

He pushed on the door of the trunk in order to shut it and looked over at her. "You're in the top spot no matter the subject or situation."

"The place does have _'domestic bliss_' and '_family home_' written all over," I said to get back at her for that uncomfortable shower discussion from this morning. "You know Julie's only one state away from here."

Lester nudged her. "Sorry you asked now?"

It took her a second to reply, but her eyes never left Ranger in the time that lapsed before she simply answered Lester's question with a ... "_Nope_."

Ranger chose a place that was halfway between the air strip and Fort Benning so neither drive would feel unending, and eighteen-minutes later he was parking in his two-car garage.

"_Wow_," was Steph's reaction when she got out and scanned the two-story, gray stone and wood-siding home that will likely become one of many vacation options she'll have to choose from on the days other than these four that Ranger may be willing to take off from Rangeman.

"That word is reassuring," he told her, holding their bags with one hand so he had a free arm for her.

"It is. I don't know what I was picturing, but it wasn't _this_. Tank was right. It _is _a family place, with a side order of fortress. Too bad from what I hear, we won't be spending much together-time here for most of our Georgia visit."

"We'll be back, Babe."

He unlocked the front door for her and they disappeared inside. The guys and I hung back to give Ranger time to show her and Monroe around the place. Lester is physically unable to hang around with nothing to do for too long, but they deserve a moment alone together somewhere outside of the seventh floor of Rangeman

"How long we givin' them?" Lester had to ask, less than a minute and thirty seconds later.

If you took a hyperactive puppy and a sleep-deprived toddler and combined both into somewhat of a man shape, you'd have Santos. An effective torture-technique to use on him would be to make him sit still and shut up for five minutes straight with no food, phone, or mirror, for him to use as a distraction.

"Long enough for you to haul all of our bags inside," I answered, slinging my bag at him as punishment for being an impatient idiot.

There is more going on here than just a yearly competition.

Steph and Ranger were back in the kitchen when we all wandered in. She was already peeking behind every closed cabinet door, and I noticed no time has been wasted putting a food and water dish down for the mutt. I sighed to myself. Guess Monroe's definitely staying with us.

"If this pantry was stocked with TastyKakes, I'd be able to say this place is _perfect_."

"You brought doughnuts with you," Santos reminded her. "What more do you want?"

She stared at him. "_TastyKakes_. Like ... I ... just ... said."

"Well, if doughnuts don't do it for you. I'll take more than the ones you offered."

She shoved the box his way. "Help yourself ... to the _two_ you originally asked for. No more than that. Bobby, Tank, you can help yourselves to however many you want. I'm too nervous/excited to eat."

"There's nothing to be nervous about," Ranger told her.

"Says _you_. I want this so bad for you, it's actually turned physical since we landed."

"You don't have to worry, Steph," Santos told her around a mouthful of fried dough. "The Boss and Tank have this in the bag. What you see them doing in the gym and at the gun range, is nothin' compared to how hard they train behind the scenes. You need to be nervous about how hard the other Rangers are going to take losing _again _to guys almost double their age."

"Did you just call us old?" I asked, crossing my arms over the chest that's taken two decades to perfect, that's threatening my T-shirt seams right now.

"Not _old _... _experienced_. These young bucks think they know it all and can do it all because they _are _so young and believe they're invincible. I think you showing them up year after fucking year is a good lesson in humility and in staying alive. Being a hothead can get your head blown clear off and shoved in a body bag with the rest of ya if you're not careful. You and Ranger are probably saving lives by doing this."

Steph opened the Tasty Pastry box and offered him his second favorite ... a jelly doughnut.

"Ranger is incredible at showing people what they need to do in order to survive," she said to us, "but I love hearing someone else saying all the stuff I feel when I think about him."

The Boss did an abbreviated version of a dismissive headshake. "Tank and I just do what we've been trained to. It's really as simple as that."

"Yeah, right," Steph replied. "Nothing you do is 'simple'. It's either excruciating or it's you preparing to withstand what you know is about to be excruciating."

Bobby and Lester each toasted her with their pastries. Ranger just acknowledged her words with a kiss.

"There is _excruciating_, Babe, and there's just _uncomfortable_. Anything uncomfortable is usually something you can push to the back of your brain and ignore until the mission's completed."

"If you say so."

"It works. It's how we survive ninety-five percent of the time. I'm going to go change before we head to the base," he told us.

I nodded. I'm going to do the same.

"Tank and I are just touching base today," Ranger said to Steph before he turned to leave the room. "You can relax here if you'd prefer."

"Nope. I'm with you every step of the way ... _if _I'm allowed to tag along."

Santos snorted. "You're _'The_ Ranger Manoso's' woman. That means you have more right to be on base than even recruits training there."

"Then the Army Ranger's system is flawed. My only skill is that I can make Ranger laugh against his better judgment. That isn't exactly life-saving."

"You'd be surprised how wrong you are about that," I said quietly as Ranger hit the stairs.

Steph was going to follow him, but Monroe decided he wanted her participation in a game of tug-of-war that he knows he'll always win if someone other than Ranger is holding the opposite end of the pull-toy. It was almost comical how Steph's eyes followed Ranger up the stairs and then shot to the floor Monroe had planted his ass on while he whimpered around the ball end of his toy.

She could have just asked one of us to play with him while she went with Ranger, but she has a sense of responsibility as strong as Ranger's. So she decided she had to amuse Monroe, even with Lester and Bobby not far away from the two of them.

"Holy crap!" She'd said when Ranger came back down minutes later, and she saw that the Boss changed out of his Rangeman uniform and into Ranger cammies.

I'd done the same, but you couldn't pry her eyes off of Ranger long enough for her to notice that I'm looking pretty damn good in mine.

"You can't leave the house looking like that," she told the Boss.

"Like what?"

"Hot as hell," she answered, grabbing the collar of his shirt to pull him in for closer inspection.

No one except Stephanie can move Ranger, likely because he's never opposed to her trying to or to what happens when she does.

"I'm happy you approve," he told her.

"I _don't _approve. That's what I'm saying! I'm not allowed to have my gun on me, so how am I supposed to '_encourage_' people to keep their eyes off of you while you're wearing those? I can't manage it, and I know what's under those looks even better."

"_Tonight_ there won't be anyone except fellow Rangers. And tomorrow it'll only be the same guys and a few new ones plus their families, Steph," I informed her. "Three quarters are going to be scared to speak to the legend, let alone have designs on his person. And I'm confident you can take any family members that may stupidly and lethally believe they have a shot with the Boss."

"They'll face something even scarier than Monroe if their stares linger," she stated.

"My virtue will be safe and sound with you around, Babe," Ranger promised with a kiss that was probably just a polite way to get her to stop talking.

She pulled back. "Was that a joke?"

His face remained expressionless. "You'll never know."

She rolled her eyes but stopped ogling and worrying ... about Ranger getting mauled at least. She always has a backup issue to fret about. This time is no different.

"You have my base pass, right?" She asked. "I don't wanna be told I'm not cleared to be with you or be standing on the sidelines to cheer my guys on."

I didn't laugh, but I wanted to. Bobby and Lester had no such qualms. They let out lengthy bursts of incredulous laughter.

"Thanks. I needed that," Bobby told her, wiping amused-tears from his eyes.

"_What's _funny?" She asked.

"That as powerful as you think Ranger is, you don't know the full extent of just how respected and idolized he is in our community ... and _bases _around the world. This one specifically" Bobby explained.

"You being Ranger's fiancée means not only has your pass been approved, and likely framed, no doubt a warning has been resounding around the entire state that you be taken care of as well as _he _takes care of you," Lester tacked on. "No one else would've been allowed to bring a canine companion without it being a medical requirement."

"So I'm going to have more than just the two of you and Monroe watching everything I do?"

"Count on it."

"Great. Good thing I'm going to be so focused on Ranger and Tank, I won't have time or the brain power to think too hard about that."

"You'd better pace yourself," Bobby warned her. "You've got a long weekend ahead of you."

I cut my eyes to Ranger. "And here I was thinking that you and I are the ones who were gonna be steadily tortured over the next three days, but sounds like your woman is the one going off to war."

"Hey ... you signed up for the torture," Steph reminded me. "I'm going to be the one having to stand quietly by and watch the guy I'm gonna marry and our best person look miserable and be in pain and not be able to do anything to help you. That's not going to be easy, which I think is the main reason Ranger arranged a security detail, not to make sure I'm safe ... but to keep me from interfering with the competition."

"We'll be fine," Ranger promised her. "We know what our bodies can handle and exactly how we'll use them to make it first to the finish line again."

"Alright, since I trust you and believe that completely. When do you guys have to be there?"

"_Today _... any time we show up. Tomorrow morning we leave at 0200 hours. The competition starts hours before sunup."

"I'll take Monroe for a quick walk before we leave so he doesn't destroy the house while we're gone. I'm sure Bobby and Lester can handle him, but why chance it?"

Ranger looked at Santos and Brown. He didn't have to say anything to have them bookending his 'Babe' before she could even reattach a leash to the hulk's collar. By the time the four returned, Monroe happily carrying in his mouth what he thought was 'a stick' which is actually a small tree, Ranger and I were anxious to get back to integrating ourselves into base life.

"Does this thing really have to start before the sun's even committed to being up?" Steph asked during the short drive. "You guys deserve to have some light leading your way."

"Except we're trained to be leaders during daylight, moonlight, or no light," Ranger said. "This weekend is designed to cover every possible scenario."

"I thought you were gonna say at least it starting off dark means you won't have to see how far you have to run."

"We run for fun, Steph. This is just another workout for us."

"_Some _of us run for fun," I added.

When it comes to running to nowhere, I lean more towards Steph's attitude than Ranger's, especially when it will include wearing a seventy-pound pack at various points. I run regularly to keep in shape so I won't slow Ranger or my team down. I agree to haul ass over the next couple of days for the sheer joy of blowing shit up at random points without having to put up with the TPD sticking their nose in and asking questions.

"And some like to bitch when they're doing it," The Boss couldn't resist saying.

"Wait … are you talking about Tank or me?" Steph asked. "You know I'm bitchier when you try to get me to exercise before the birds are still just dreaming about worms."

"I was referring to Tank. I find _your _complaining cute and also amusing, not irritating like Tank's is."

"I'll take that," she said.

She could say that, since she doesn't have actual _days _of running mere hours now ahead of her.

We arrived at Fort Benning and were immediately hailed as royalty once word got around that _The Mighty Manoso _had landed. Steph clearly enjoyed the fuss being made by every Soldier on base at seeing '_Ranger_' in the flesh. But he - like I - would have preferred skipping the celebrity shit altogether and using the time spent making small talk doing something more relevant to the contest and the men responsible for setting it up and keeping it going.

I understood why coming here with Stephanie was important to the Boss. Despite her recent proposal, whenever Ranger was approached by a lifer or newbie, Steph hung back ... staying a Ranger's-arm-length away from him. And each time, Ranger would use his grip on her hand to reel her back in to introduce her to whoever he was talking to and purposely incorporate her into the conversation.

He wasn't here to show off, he wanted time to familiarize her with this side of his life. She's only known him as 'Her Ranger'. _Here _she's seeing what made him one while he tells her without saying anything that she's welcome to every part of him, and he wants her comfortable with every aspect of his life.

By the time we left to get a few hours of sleep before we drag our asses right back out of bed, I'd say Ranger has met every goal he's ever made when it comes to Stephanie. With the sound of crickets still loudly chirping, _everyone _left the house the following _almost-morning _and headed back to where we left just a short time ago.

Ranger kissed Steph for the last time this weekend, and then only moments after he and I got our numbers and into our starting position, our shot to prove that we're once again the best of the absolute best, broke the stillness of the coming dawn. Ranger and I took off at a run, our boots completely in sync with each other's at a good but purposely measured clip. It felt too good to have a rifle back in my arms.

As horrific as war is, there are elements of battle I enjoy. Being put to the test everyday and coming out of it relatively-unscathed, is an addictive feeling. A feeling that can turn deadly for returning Service Members if they can't find equally adrenaline-pumping activities to engage in after they're back home.

I could hear Steph's whistles and Monroe's howling-response in response to our coming out first in the kick-off run, where we're now each to move onto pull ups without hesitation or time to take a deep breath after powering through miles to reach dawn and these grown-up monkey bars. No surprise that Ranger had no trouble with either the mini-marathon or the test of our upper body strength when he should be at least a little winded. He would've completed this challenge using only one arm if he didn't have to distribute his energy carefully in order to get through what we know lies ahead.

I'm not proud to admit that he had to literally carry my ass across the finish line our first time out. I had fractured my Fibula when I'd landed on it during a rushed rope-descent dismount. And while I kept up pretty steadily over that weekend, right up to that last test, I wasn't going to make it through the march at the end. Not only wasn't Ranger willing to be disqualified for our team not completing the mission if one man couldn't man up and complete it, he wasn't going to let me blame myself for not finishing the race.

Without even asking my opinion on the matter, he shouldered my weight and got us both to the end and also the first to finish. Shocked the shit out of me on both counts. The boot I was fitted with right after a medic was called in, I wanted to kick my own ass with. But Ranger wouldn't let me. Not only was that the stateside-start to his overseas 'living legend' reputation, it was a _personal _battle he and I got through together. We'd survived a lot before that, but that moment of pain and pride proved that we weren't only Rangers … we're true brothers, blood and otherwise. Not only would I die for him after that, I'd be the first to _volunteer _to do it.

With Steph's "_Go Range Men_!" shout still ringing in my ears, the Boss and I finished our arm-workout and began another run towards the next round of physical hell. That involved wading through water-filled ditches with barbed-wire covers just so we could get helicoptered to the scene of a mock rescue where Ranger and I had to perform triage and then grab and carry a heavily-weighted stretcher, simulating an injured Soldier in need of an on-foot carry-out. Having our entire bodies burning, dripping wet with frigid water, and already feeling the day, it sounded easier than it was to get it shouldered and steady, before we began yet another trek to get our injured phantom-Soldier lifted to safety.

Once the stretcher was destined for a more pleasant place than we are, Ranger and I endured a twenty-plus forced march that brought us into day two. I thought the harnesses we had to use were overkill, but apparently safety is first when you aren't expecting bullets to fly by and find a home in your heart or heart. And we weren't forced to tie our own rappel seat, which is a relief since those are pretty tough on the nuts.

Ranger just gave his safety gear a derisive glance before we scaled walls using only handholds and whatever dexterity our fingers and booted feet have left. I was never a fan of climbs, ropes or otherwise, especially having broken a bone after one, but the slide down the other side felt damn good. It was almost a chance to rest when only air and a loose hold is required to make it back down to the ground.

Having to then climb a tower only to immediately repel back down it, should feel like more of the same, but that brief feeling of being able to fly, canceled out the pain going into the resulting fast descent. We quickly moved onto clearing a purposely downed helicopter and rescued a trapped airman who needed to be strapped to a board and carried out under 'enemy' fire. _This _is what I'd been waiting for.

Ranger and I took turns throwing and launching explosives to clear our path and also to protect ourselves and our rescuee so Ranger would be able to lead me and the poor guy tied to the gurney ... through cement tunnels and across thinly-cleared forest trails until we reached the pick-up point. Our guy was airlifted out while Ranger and I provided coverage again so our people wouldn't be shot down. If this were a real war, we all need to survive ... those in the air and those of us left on the ground.

I shot my eyes to Ranger, ready to grin at the unprepared youngin' that was grunting nearby, but one indulgent glance back showed no teams had caught up to us. That was fucking humbling. _I'm _the grunting idiot. But ... _shit _... _every _part of me is either sore, bleeding, or completely numb. But that ceased to exist when we reached the fun part, target practice with grenades where we blew up the enemy so we can ranger-crawl over to where another enemy asshole needed a grenade chucked at him. I could do this all day. _Pick up, pull pin, throw_! It's a smooth move and a steady cadence I felt was meditative. _This _is what we do, _who _we are.

"You done playing?" Ranger asked, sounding like he'd been out for just a brisk walk, not a man who hasn't slept in forever and had worked hard every one of the minutes we've been awake.

Damn him. I'm wet, exhausted, and even my eyelashes hurt, but if he's barely showing the strain, than I'll fucking hide it too. We headed out and began to haul ass to the next set of knee ups, but to prove he chose the right partner, I answered like talking wasn't too much to fucking ask of me.

"You know me, any time I get a course that involves multiple kill shots to pass, I'll show up even if my body doesn't agree that it's able to."

He nodded. We each have something mental and something physical to get us through to the next phase of this. My mental push is to make Ranger proud. My physical prod is to get to blow some shit up. No doubt his motivation is different. One is likely to inspire other Rangers into believing they can do anything if they work hard and put their mind to it, and Ranger's other I'd guess is all wrapped up around Steph.

Being a big guy with a lot of muscle, these sit ups, pull ups, and knee ups, aren't my favorite challenges. And like with everything else, Ranger smoked me. I hate when people who know shit about us throw out 'robot' as a taunt or insult. But times like these, I understand the confusion. Seeing Ranger in action has you believing he's on another level. Still human ... but _more_. I know he has to be hurting, but no one - except maybe Steph or Julie - would be able to detect it. I teased Stephanie about her believing he's a superhero, but I'll be damned if he doesn't have me believing it myself during drills like these.

I was relieved to get my rifle back in my hands, but that meant we were walking into day three. Climbing I could consider fun, and even balancing stomach-down on a rope with only your hands and one foot propelling and securing your body across a body of water, can be relaxing ... even _exhilarating _when you feel your fingertips connect to that Rangers banner. Having to land in ball-freezing water seconds later I would happily bypass.

When I could feel myself wanting to blow my own legs off as they began to shake and feel like they're unable to get me to the finish line a-fuckin'-gain, I looked sideways at Ranger. With a two-second stare, he seemed to will more fight and strength into me. Either that or he was issuing a mental threat that if I wreck his chance of being deemed 'Best Ranger' in front of Stephanie and null her marriage proposal, I'll be in far more pain once we get back on our home turf.

I sucked it up and put everything I had left in me to match Ranger's running pace. I knew all the pain, focus, and sleep-free nights, were worth it when I felt that finish line ribbon smacked me after Ranger broke it apart with his chest. To his credit, he didn't even acknowledge the congrats that hit us for being declared the reigning champions. His eyes and attention were solely focused on spotting and beckoning Stephanie to him.

She was on the same page. She shoved Monroe's leash into Bobby's hands and literally propelled herself like a grenade ready to explode against Ranger. She didn't care how dirty, damp, or sweaty he is … she wanted to show him how proud she is _of him _and to _be his_. I pity the idiot who blocked their way to the other.

It was lucky for everyone that no one did. He caught Steph's airborne body with one arm while shaking a Sergeant's hand with the other.

"Proud of you, Batman," I heard her whisper to the Boss right before she planted one helluva kiss on his mouth.

"I'm glad, but Tank and I just did what we're trained to, Babe," he replied, not being modest, just stating the truth as he nodded other congrats away.

_Her_ congratulations, pride, and promise are the only things he cares about.

"I appreciate the credit, but we both know _you're _the driving force behind what we just accomplished," I told my best friend and idol. "I couldn't do this without you."

"That's what I do," he said back. "I get people to see and embrace their full potential. _I _couldn't have done this without _you,_ Tank. We've survived this life together."

"You could've done this without me, but I'm honored you chose me to help secure another win."

"You were awesome, Tank!" Steph said, treating me to an excited hug despite Monroe already working himself free of Bobby's grip to get between us.

I don't get the mutt's grudge against me, but he's still hanging onto it no matter how many treats I slip him. Maybe it's all fake just so I continue to suck up to him so he can get more food. I wouldn't put anything past Stephanie's creature.

"I was just trying to keep up," I told Steph, when she drew back to envelop Ranger again.

I noticed her dog didn't try to shove _him _out of Steph's way or embrace. I helped rescue the beast, you'd think he'd be less of a dick to me.

"Hey, Tank, remember that Ranger is a freakin' superhero. You and I being mere mortals puts us at a disadvantage. But you're not far behind him for not only keeping up, but you've been Ranger's best friend, and go-to guy for everything, for _decades _… that means you are an incredible person and one hell of a warrior! Ranger is pretty choosy when it comes to people he likes, and you've been there from the beginning ... helping him become the legend he is. Don't downplay your own accomplishments just because you aren't him. You both kicked some serious ass, and I honestly can't be any prouder to have you both in my life than I am right now."

"Stop, Steph," Lester said. "You're gonna make Tank cry if you keep that shit up."

"I've got enough strength left in me to beat the shit out of you, since that doesn't take much effort," I warned him. "So I'd shut the fuck up now."

"Take Tank's advice, Lester. I don't wanna see what Monroe will do if his people start fighting each other," Steph told the idiot.

"The mutt seems to be nursing a beef with Tank," Lester said to her. "I'm confident he'll back _me _in a fight."

"Hold me back, Tank," Steph teased. "I'm going to take a swing at Lester myself."

"Easy, Babe," Ranger said against her ear. "Santos is just trying to feel like a man again after seeing Tank and I set an unprecedented record."

She cut her eyes to Lester. "_Ouch_. That one had to have hurt, especially coming from the Boss himself."

"I don't need a title to know how good I am," Santos stated.

I nodded. "Spoken like someone who doesn't have a title beyond '_Control Room Clown_'."

"You guys are all impressive. The contest is over, let's not create a new insult version of one," Steph said to us.

"Yes, _Mom_," Santos told her.

Instead of responding to him, she looked up at Ranger. "When do we get to ditch him?"

"We have an official dinner to get through tomorrow and then we can head back to Jersey."

"Good," Steph said. "I can't wait to get home and claim _my _prize."


	4. Chapter 4

**All familiar characters belong to Janet. The inevitable mistakes and Monroe are mine. I used nothing except creative license for the ceremonial dinner. **

**Chapter 4**

**Tank's POV**

The dinner the day after the competition was like every other one we've attended over the years. It's nice to be appreciated by your peers ... people who know exactly how rigorous and extensive our training is, and understand that coming in first among some superhuman heroes is no easy feat, but I would've been happier with pizza and a movie back at the house.

I know Ranger feels the same, but he's enjoying having Stephanie curled around his arm during an event celebrating what he's - at his very core - extremely proud of. No surprise, with just a look he managed to part the crowd whenever we were confronted by a group who wanted some of his time or just a moment of connection where there's a slight chance of 'The Legend' somehow rubbing off on them.

Before the food was served, the Boss was invited up on the stage to say a few words. While the guests clapped and gaped in reverence, Steph and I mirrored each other's pride in being two of the few Ranger cares about. Without even saying much, he lived up to the title of 'The Best Ranger'. He shifted the focus off of his own super-abilities and directed the praise onto _all _Rangers, what we do and why we're the best, not just talking about the two of us. He could've been playing the role of recruiter the way he was encouraging the young ones, while having seasoned warriors sitting up even straighter as we all remembered why we keep doing what we first enlisted to do.

I hate the spotlight even more than Ranger does, but I did want to pass along one message to our people. Ranger arranged it so I could get up and out as quickly as humanly possible. I walked up to the microphone and showed no fear.

"We wouldn't be here again _today _if years ago we hadn't been where you are right now," I told the room. "Commit to your training, believe in your abilities, and don't give up no matter how tired, sick, or in trouble you are. Rangers will always lead the way. This competition is just a quick three-day example of why we'll continue to. While appreciated, receiving this honor isn't what's important, surviving and keeping your brothers and sisters alive at the same time is. Thank you."

I fought a cringe at the high decibel level Stephanie's whistle reached, but I gave her a nod in acknowledgment of her enthusiasm, feeling proud to have her support. She loves the Boss without a doubt, but she's made room for us where it counts. I made my way back to our table and started counting down the seconds until we could leave.

The food's good, the guest list didn't suck, and Steph's wide-eyes taking in everything and everybody she hadn't known was associated with Ranger is amusing, but I'm far more comfortable in the middle of nowhere, hunting down assholes and blowing shit up. I even thought I'd welcome the sight of Monroe's ugly mug until we _did_ get back to Ranger's place later that evening. The hound from hell proceeded to make a big show of opening and then snapping his jaws shut again too fucking close to my knuckles when I offered to take him for his last walk of the night so Steph wouldn't have to.

"It's okay, Tank," she said. "I'm too wired and too proud of you guys to sit still. I wouldn't mind walking Monroe around the neighborhood with two handsome Army Rangers in full dress uniform providing security for us."

While I took her at face value, Ranger knew she was up to something. "Are you going to try to get a picture of us to send to Julie, Edna, or Mary Lou?" He asked, while Steph took the leash from me and dodged Monroe's goofy grin to attach it to the hand-tooled '_RangeDog_' tire they call a collar.

"Mary Lou and Grandma," she confessed. "Julie wants one of you both with the trophy. Don't tell her I told you that, she wants to sweet talk you out of one herself."

"Your secret is safe with us," he said. "Do you want to switch out your heels for sneakers or boots before we head out with the dog?"

She gave the Boss a look that was nothing short of offended. "Are you kidding me? I'm from _Jersey_. I could run track in stilettos ... _if _I ever came down with a case of brain damage and actually want to run. I still can't figure out how you guys stayed constantly moving, sane, and effective, for three entire days in a row with no break."

"We could teach you," I offered. "A few months of getting up hours before dawn and working out until you vomit should get you warmed up."

She glared at me just for trying to be helpful. "That kind of crap is why Monroe keeps pretending to bite you," she informed me. "I'm fighting the urge myself right now."

"How about we walk instead of baring our teeth?" Ranger suggested.

I didn't think that was the most reassuring of questions, but whatever he whispered in her ear right after had her mood immediately improving.

"Come on, Big Guy. Let's roll," she said.

"Are you talking to me or the dog?" I unwisely asked, but Ranger had already worked his magic on her and she turned sentimental.

"Both. Plus you and Lester too," she told Brown and Santos. "This feels like it should be a celebratory lap around the place."

She was in an even more inclusive mood the next morning over a sausage and 'shroom casserole, plus homemade French bread. All courtesy of Santos' insomnia. I cut a slab of the 'everything but the kitchen sink' egg mash-up and put it between two slices of toasted and then heavily buttered bread.

I caught Ranger giving my breakfast sammie the side-eye.

"Hey, after _that _weekend ... I earned this," I told him.

"Make sure it's only _this_ morning," he replied. "I won't be able to carry you again if that," he said pointing at my sandwich, "becomes a regular breakfast."

I lifted it up in a literal toast, but made a note to do a double workout as soon as we get back to Trenton.

"Do we really have to go home now?" Steph asked Ranger. "It seems like a shame to be so close to Julie and not introduce her to Monroe, or tell her in person that we actually _almost_ have a plan to get married."

"He's protecting his daughter, Steph," I told her.

"From _me_? I know it's hard to believe, but I'm extremely likable. Right, Monroe? Julie likes me and will absolutely love _you_."

The mutt ate up the attention, licking her face like it was his reason for getting up this morning. His stink-eye was reserved solely for me. It's eerie how he seems to know whenever I say anything negative, even when it's not about him. Though this time it's _definitely _about him.

I've known Julie since before she was born and she being within chomping distance of a dog like Steph's, doesn't make me feel good.

"Julie _should _be protected from you," I said, "but I was talking about the dog. Ranger wouldn't want his daughter turning into a human chew toy for your Mondo-mutt."

"Monroe likes Stephanie better, Tank," Ranger said to me. "Accept it and move on."

"Monroe would like _you _better if you'd stop doing things like insinuate that he'd try to eat Julie, Tank. Anyway, back to what I was saying. Do you think it's possible to stay an extra day to see her? Or Rachel and Ron need more than an hour's notice and will say no automatically if you ask?" She asked Ranger.

"Tomorrow's a school day, Babe. It'd be cutting it close to get her here, visit, and then return her home where she'll still have time to sleep. I'd need a better reason than introducing Julie to our dog."

"_Okay _... so how about skipping right over our engagement news, and we just tie the knot today? Will her parents let her come see her Dad get married? I'd say that's a pretty big deal."

"If I didn't already know you're Ranger's other half, how you just altered a situation to get your objective met, is so much like the Boss ... it's a little frightening," Bobby told Steph.

"I'll take that as a major compliment. Thank you." She turned to Ranger. "Do you think Rachel and Ron will go for it?"

He pulled out his cell. "Only one way to find out. But you have to be very sure that you're ready to do this, Babe. I'm not going to lie to them."

"Trust me, I'm good to go. I'd do it right now in the kitchen with just the six of us, but I'd love it if Julie could be here too. I want her to see me as family, and having a wedding without her seems wrong. But don't worry, if they say no to today, we'll just wait until the next time you get her for a visit. I'm not usually a patient person when I want something, but for her I'll manage."

"You _have_ to stop doing that to people, Steph," Bobby told her. "The Boss won't take no for an answer if he'll have to wait for a school vacation as the alternative."

"You guys don't give Ranger enough credit. Unlike me, patience is his _other _middle name after Carlos."

"Not when _you're_ involved," Santos pointed out. "He becomes as impatient as you."

Lester's dead on with that one, but I'll never admit he's right out loud.

Steph looked at Ranger. "Ignore him. What we do will be done at the right time for us."

"Huh?" Lester asked. "Did that even make any sense?"

"If you have a working brain cell, it makes total sense," I answered.

"_Shhh_," Steph hissed. "He's calling Julie."

"I'm calling Rachel first," Ranger told her. "I don't want to get Julie's hopes up if it's a no go straight out of the gate."

"See, that's why you're the 'dad'," she replied, suddenly leaning down to hug the tree trunk masquerading as Monroe's neck. "I would've called Julie immediately, excited to tell her our news. Then I'd have to say an 'oh shit' if her parents weren't as happy as we are with our plan."

Even though nothing had changed in Ranger's face, having been in many firefights with him I could see tension causing his shoulders to lock into place. Although he, Rachel, and Ron have worked out a generous visitation schedule ever since Julie made it known to everyone listening that she wants Ranger in her life, he still hates that he has to 'ask permission' to see his own child. He'll be the first to admit that he's the reason for that, letting Ron adopt her almost a decade ago, but it never fails to bug the shit out of him.

"Rachel?" He paused. "Yeah, it's me. I wanted to ask you and Ron if it's alright for Julie to come for a quick visit today?" Another pause. "Yeah, I know, but I'm currently in Georgia. I was hoping I'd be able to fly down, pick her up, and bring her back as soon as possible. Yes, I know she has school, but Stephanie and I ... yes _that _Stephanie … were talking about getting married while we're here with Tank, Bobby, and Lester, and we would love to have Julie be part of this."

Everyone held their breath waiting for an answer, but there was only more fucking talking.

"We'd wait until a weekend you can spare, or during one of the school vacations she's planned to spend in Jersey," he said after a few seconds of listening to whatever was being posed to him on the other end of the line.

"Alright. Goodbye," Ranger said before disconnecting.

"_Well!?_" Steph all but shrieked.

I didn't blame her, we're all a little desperate for a thumbs-up.

"I'm going to call Julie now and officially ask her to be your 'Best person'. If she agrees, I'll head out to get her if you can tolerate these three on your own for two hours."

"We'll be fine. Even if Lester was being particularly annoying, I'd risk it if it means Julie gets to come."

Talk about giving the right answer. Ranger's expression stayed _expressionless_, but we've been there during the best and worst moments of each other's lives, so I knew he appreciated her response even before he spared a few seconds in order to kiss her.

As he hit the button that has always connected him to his daughter, Steph crouched back down beside the hell hound.

"Monroe, cross your paws for us," Steph whispered into one floppy ear. "We really want Julie here. She'll be more fun than I am to play with."

"I doubt you'll need anyone's help for this one, Steph," Santos said, risking life and literal limb to try to pet Monroe's head.

I rolled my eyes when nothing happened beyond a tolerated ear scratch.

"Julie loves us," he continued. "She won't be able to resist coming once she knows her favorite Uncles are here."

"More that she'll get to skip a day of school," I countered, "or want to be here to see her Dad become genuinely happy on the long-term. I doubt _you_ factor in until around sixth place ... after seeing Steph, meeting Monroe, and hugging me."

Someone needs to check his ego. The mutt glanced at me and I'd bet my trophy he narrowed his eyes in warning.

I narrowed mine back. "You don't scare me," I reminded him.

"Stop picking on Monroe, Tank," Stephanie told me. "He's being a really good boy and your bitchiness is going to confuse him, because _he's _not doing anything bad."

I felt Ranger's eyes on me. I cut mine to him in time to catch his amused smile that had nothing to do with Julie since she hadn't answered the call yet. He's the only one who sees, and will admit, that the dog likes fucking with me.

His smile changed into a contented one when he started talking. "Hey, Julie. It's me." A slight pause as she greeted him back. "Have you spoken to your parents?" Another moment of silence. "That was nice of them. They're letting me have the pleasure of asking you myself. Stephanie, Uncles Tank, Bobby, and Lester, and I are currently right above you in Georgia, I was wondering if you'd like to come join us for a few hours if I fly down and get you?"

Everyone could feel how anxious Stephanie was getting before she stood up and shouted "_Tell her why!_" almost in Ranger's free ear.

"Subtle, Babe."

She shrugged. "I'm many things, _subtle _will _neeeever_ be one of them."

He went back to listening to Julie before turning back to Steph. "Julie says 'hi' and wants to know what it is I'm taking too long to tell her."

I thought Lester was a loud person, but Steph's breaking his record this weekend. "_Hi, Jules!_" she said towards Ranger's cell, and then she poked the Boss in his rib cage. "Go ahead and tell her why she _needs_ to be here with us."

Many men have died for less offensive actions than physically 'poking the bear', but Ranger just looped an arm around her shoulders and dropped a kiss on the top of her head.

I lifted an eyebrow at Cujo, but he didn't even raise his as Ranger tugged _their _person close. He laid down with his massive cranium pressing heavily on his paws, no further reaction. I tugged playfully on Steph's ponytail the other day and almost got a chunk taken outta my leg. Like she always does, Steph had said it was all for show, but I only agree with her about that on days that _don't_ end in 'Y'. I swear the mutt would laugh outright if he drew my particular blood.

"Steph basically proposed and I said yes," I heard Ranger say, as I decided to ignore the mutt and focus on my by-choice niece's hopeful part in all this. "She suggested we do it while we're nearby so she can have you as her 'maid of honor' ..."

"_Your Dad means I want you to be__ my Best and Favorite person!_" Steph shouted in the vicinity of the phone again.

"Today," Ranger said, valiantly trying to finish his sentence. "Your Mom said it was alright to fly down and pick you up if you'd like to be part of our wedding. If not, we can wait until the next time you come to Trenton."

He jerked his cell away from his ear and we were all able to hear Julie's happy shriek. Looks like Steph will have to hand her 'Loudest Human' title to Julie after _that _sound. Ranger carefully reeled in his arm and tried to remain calm for both of his ladies.

"Should I take that to mean you're happy about this?" He asked his daughter and then waited for her response. "I know, you wanted this to happen years ago. We had to wait until Stephanie was ready. So you'll come? You just made everyone's day. I'll leave in a few minutes and be there in less than an hour." He disconnected and turned to us. "It's a go. I'll call the pilot on the way. I won't be long."

Steph hugged him and then fitted her mouth briefly to his. "Go ahead. We'll be here when the two of you get back. Wait … um ... how are we for the legalities? Should I be signing something or looking for rings while you're gone?"

"I have that covered. Just focus on not killing Lester and preventing Monroe from eating Tank."

She kissed Ranger goodbye and then stepped back to give him a pretty respectable salute. "Will do, Sir. Ranger, Sir."

"Smartass," he said with a great deal of affection.

And then like smoke ... he was _gone_.

He and our little love were back at the house before we managed to fully map out our idea of what the rest of the day may entail. I'd even attempted a little sucking up and suggested Steph and I take Monroe for a walk to kill some time. That ended as I'd expected. He ignored me, smiled stupidly at Stephanie the entire time, and then tried to drag into the house a shrub he'd uprooted that _used _to be planted in the front yard.

I'm not sure he's what landscape experts would be expecting if they were called here to handle a garden pest, but I'd be willing to place a call. Though Ranger's okay with almost anything that makes Steph happy, so I'm betting he'd just hire someone to repair _the damage_, not fix _the problem._

"Don't make that face," Steph said to me, after she got Monroe to drop the small tree with the still-attached dirt-caked root ball. "Monroe was probably thinking that was a good place to plant something special to commemorate today."

"Yeah, _that's _what he was thinking."

"Be a hardass all you want, you're going to eventually love him like the rest of us do."

"I won't hold my breath."

She sighed, but gave me a look like she knows better. She had just unhooked his leash and gave him a fresh bowl of water when Ranger and Julie came in. I knew I was completely on my own when Monroe ambled up right behind Stephanie in order to greet them.

"Oh, Monroe's sooo cute. _And so big!_" Julie said as soon as she cleared the doorway.

Monroe was glued to Steph's leg, but his tail was whipping back and forth in welcome, slowly at first but quickly gaining momentum.

"Can I pet him?"

"Remember what I told you," Ranger said. "Let him see and sniff your hand first and we'll go from there. Stephanie will kill me for killing him if he harms you."

Julie rolled her eyes. "That's why we got these," she reminded him, holding up a takeout bag that is likely the reason why the mutt started out happy. "Dad told me all about Monroe and says he really likes chicken nuggets, so I asked if we could stop and get him some before I got to meet him. I really want him to like me."

"That's the girl I know and love," Steph said to her. "He couldn't _not _like you, but give him the bag and three seconds, and Monroe's going to be your new best friend."

Our Rangegirl grinned. "That was my plan."

"It's working," Ranger commented, after the box of chicken was produced and quickly inhaled, one nugget right after the other.

You'd think he'd learn to _chew _his food by now.

"You guys timed it right, Tank and I just took Monroe for a walk ... so he was needing to reload."

"I saw _the load _you just scooped up," I said to Steph. "He's fine on that count."

"_Uncle Tank!_" Julie said in a slight reprimand.

"Don't mind Tank, Jules," Bobby told her. "He hasn't convinced Monroe to cut _him _a break yet, and he hasn't been handling the rejection well."

At least _she's _happy to see me. As has been our tradition since she was a toddler, whenever Julie hugs me, she takes a bit of a running leap first just to see how high she can get a hug thrown around me. It started as a chubby-armed squeeze around my knees once she learned how to walk. And as she's grown up ... my legs, waist, chest ... and if she's feeling especially tall, _my neck_ have all become targets ready to absorb whatever she hits me with. Being the best Uncle to her has been one of the proudest accomplishments of my entire life.

Bobby and Lester got antsy waiting and quickly came at her for their hugs. But like her Dad, Julie was all business when all the '_Hellos_' and '_I've missed yous_' were out of the way.

"Can I get a copy of the picture they took of you and Uncle Tank by this year's trophy?" Julie asked her Dad.

"Of course."

She smiled. "I know you hate your picture being taken, Uncle Tank," she said, turning to grin mischievously at me. "I have to take advantage of the times someone does the dirty work for me."

"It's a shame too, he has such a pretty face," Steph teased.

"It's more _handsome _than _pretty_," Julie told her and then looked back at me, "but I agree. We are definitely taking pictures of the wedding and you _have_ to be in at least one of them with us." She glanced up at her father. "Steph and I are going to go shopping. She can't get married without a wedding dress."

"I could get married in what I wore last night, it has some great memories," Steph said, "but Julie said she wants this to be special. Ranger, Monroe, you guys are in charge of getting everyone respectable for the ceremony ... _if _you can pull about a dozen strings and arrange a tiny ceremony ASAP. I didn't accomplish much in the two hours you weren't here."

"No worries, Babe. We'll be ready for when the two of you get back. Have fun and don't look at price tags. Whatever you love, you get."

"Spoken like a guy who's lived a long time with no financial restrictions."

She then kissed him and Monroe and then waved a 'see you in a few' to us as she playfully nudged Julie towards the door. We waited for them to pull out of the driveway and then Ranger turned 'Commander' again.

"Santos, Brown, you're in charge of turning the staircase into something a bride will be proud to walk down."

"How the fuck are we supposed to know what a freakin' bride would like?" Lester shot back.

"Google it if you have to," I told him. "They like flowers and those stupid little lights even when it isn't Christmas. Do something with that."

"Like Steph actually likes flowery crap? And if you know so much, we should switch and _I'll _go with the Boss."

"Quit bitching and start moving," Ranger barked. "We only have an hour if I know Stephanie. And just for you picking now to be a dick, Santos, _you _get to also find Monroe something formal to wear ... and then wrestle him into it."

Santos' '_Fuck_' reverberated throughout the entire downstairs.

"If Stephanie isn't happy," he continued, "_I _won't be either. Go charm a florist if you can't come up with any ideas on your own."

"No problem, Boss," Brown wisely said. "We'll take care of the 'aisle'."

Ranger nodded and got busy making a call or two to get an on-the-spot marriage certificate that's airtight so Stephanie's shrew of a mother can't object from at least _that _standpoint. I drove so I could drop him at the courthouse and then head to the 'Serving and Proud to do so' place to pick up the stack of pristine white gloves, flags, and sabers for the bride and groom to walk underneath that Ranger had called ahead to secure. It may be a modified military wedding, but it'll be one nonetheless.

Once my mission was completed successfully, I swung back around and picked up Ranger.

"The judge is going to be at the house in under thirty minutes. Santos and Brown better not have spent any time goofing off."

"They wouldn't do that. They know how important this is to you, and to Steph, they won't fuck it up. If anything, they'll bust their asses trying to make things perfect for the two of you."

He looked my way. "You turning soft?"

"No, but I've got a bit of a 'soft spot' when it comes to the two of you making it." I cleared my throat, feeling uncomfortable. "The mutt's another matter. I could take or leave him."

"You realize that no one believes you don't like Monroe, right?"

"Doesn't matter. They're too afraid to call me out on it. I'm free to say whatever I want."

"Very mature," Ranger replied.

"It works for me," I said and changed the subject.

As I'd said, Brown and Santos came through big time. The staircase's banister was wrapped in some kind of white, gauzy shit that's like mosquito netting but obviously isn't, that had those white lights tucked inside the entire length of it.

So the idiot listens to me after all. Small arrangements of white roses and something green and stemmy appear to be securing the lit material to the staircase at two-foot intervals. They'd also been placed on every other step with larger versions sectioned off at the base of the landing to form a bit of an altar between a few huge candles.

"Thank you. You both went above and beyond," Ranger told both men. "I'm almost sorry to inform you that you both have gloves and sabers to get real comfortable with."

That wiped the smug grins off their faces. "Shit. _Really?_" Lester asked.

"Really," the Boss answered. "The rental is in the driveway. Steph and Julie are ...?"

"Yep ... upstairs," Brown said. "She got all girly and thanked us profusely for hauling in a few flowers, and then she and Julie disappeared up the stairs with a promise that we'll let them know when they should make their entrance."

"I think more decoratin' is going on _up there _right now than what we did _down here_," Santos informed us.

"Believe it or not, that's an extremely good sign," Ranger said. "There was always a chance Stephanie would lock herself in the bathroom and throw up repeatedly before I returned."

"That was a possibility," I told him, "but not much of one. You sure _you _aren't ready to hurl? This is it for you, you know."

"It'd better be," was all Ranger would say before we disbanded and got ready for the main event.

I'd consider Ranger's statement ominous if I didn't know Steph was made and meant for him. I fully believed that it's lonely at the top, but witnessing what these two have, I had to admit that clearly isn't the case. It's apparently lonely only until you meet the person who makes you feel like one again.

Steph didn't have one of us walk her down her stairs-aisle. She descended with her arm curled around Julie. Both women look amazing ... and so fucking happy, it physically hurt to watch them.

"You both are so beautiful," Ranger said, when they reached the last step and officially joined us downstairs.

"_Someone _thought it'd be funny for me to wear a 'Plum' colored dress," Steph informed us.

"When your last name's a color, Steph, why wouldn't you use it?" Julie countered. "I can use either Manoso or Martine so that's why my dress gets to be two-toned and iridescent. It flashes different colors in the light to match all of my many sides. Steph helped me put my hair up like hers, though mine's heavy and straight and hers is ..."

"Curly and completely crazy. And you are a multi-layered onion just like your Dad. That's why you're my new shopping buddy," Stephanie said with a smile meant just for her about-to-be step daughter. She then glanced at us. "Julie's full of clothes and Ranger-wisdom, and she's got excellent taste. These are both killer dresses, and like she said while we were standing in front of the fitting room mirror … we complement each other, we don't clash at all."

"You last name's about to change, Steph," Lester pointed out, "so it's good that you're getting some use outta it before you lose it."

"_Hey! _What if I don't wanna 'lose' my name? I _could _want to keep it or add a hyphen to it you know."

"You don't want Manoso to be your last name, Babe?"

"_Of course _I do. I've been repeating 'Stephanie Manoso' in my head all morning just because I love the sound of it, I just don't want Lester assuming he knows exactly what I'm going to do. Only _you _get to predict my behavior without expecting an immediate fight."

"Hah, you just admitted that the Boss has tamed you," Santos stupidly said out loud.

"Says the one who I'm guessing drew the short straw today and had to get Monroe into something dressy."

"Yeah, I know he wasn't wearing a tuxedo collar, plus cuffs and cufflinks when we got home from shopping," Julie said to everyone. "I would have remembered that."

"What can I say, I work fast. And I'm still alive. Ranger's the best, but I'm not so bad myself," Santos crowed.

"Are you handling getting dressed up better than the guys?" Steph asked the hulk, which had Monroe _finally_ looking at Santos like he's the appetizer to the wedding meal. "Guess not. Don't worry, Big Guy ... it'll all be over soon. Just close your eyes and picture a Lester-shaped steak."

"I _hope_ it'll be over soon. This tie's too tight," Santos complained.

"I'll make it _a lot _tighter if you don't shut it," Ranger warned.

"Dad, it's your _wedding day_ ... you can't threaten anyone during it," Julie said.

"Too late," I whispered under my breath, but with a judge here ... it _was_ best to listen to Julie and just get Ranger and Stephanie hitched as quickly as legally possible.

Ranger took Steph's hands in his as they faced each other. After what seemed like just a blink of an eye, they exchanged rings and a kiss that made us all blush. I was bracing for a long, drawn-out ceremony, or one that was nauseatingly sentimental. But the two of them being declared Mister and Missus Manoso was as easy and as painless as their relationship had been once they stopped dragging their feet and marched non-stop into an ironclad commitment.


	5. Chapter 5

**Everyone familiar belongs to Janet. I apologize in advance if there are more typos than usual. **

**Chapter 5**

**Tank's POV**

"This is going to be fun," Steph said. "I hated the detour we had to make to bring Julie back to Miami, she should be with us to see the guys' reactions, but I honestly can't wait to experience Jersey as Stephanie _Manoso_ ... wife of the _Best_ Ranger ever to grace that competition."

I cut my eyes to her. "Thanks a lot for that. You just cut _me_ out of the win. I know you only have eyes for the Boss, but I was there too."

She sighed and exchanged an '_Oh, I get your attitude towards him now_' look with the mutt. "I _did not_ cut you out of anything. I'm fully aware that you were running 'shotgun' with Ranger. If you stop pouting long enough, you'll remember that I was cheering as loudly for _you_ as I was for _him_. I was just pointing out how incredible my brand spankin' new hubby is."

I threw my hands up, fully exasperated at that point. "That's the same fuckin' thing."

"It _is_ not. Don't forget, _you're_ the _best_ friend Ranger and I can have," she tried out.

That placated me a little, but it didn't go over well with Brown and Santos. "_Hey!_" They said in partially-feigned outrage.

"What the fuck are we? _Chopped liver?_" Santos asked her.

"No, _you're_ more like a Taylor pork roll," was Steph's answer. She got up from her seat and tugged on Ranger's hand as she clucked a sound at the hellhound. "Come on, Guys. I just realized the best thing about a private plane is I can go sit _faaaar_ away from any passengers that annoy me." Once Ranger was standing, she cut her eyes back to us. "You know I care about - and respect - every single one of my Merry Men, so you clearly just decided to irritate me to pass the flight-time."

"Park it," I told her, which earned me a warning stare from the Boss. I sighed. Dealing with this particular couple is like walking through an active minefield blindfolded. "I only meant that you don't have to change seats. We're just initiating the bride into our club. If you _didn't_ put Ranger above everyone else, there'd be a problem. The 'canine unit' can move along to another part of the plane if he wants though."

I got the same exact look from both the Boss and the mutt with that comment. Monroe sat his ass back down inches from where my boot is and just stared at me. Ranger and Steph went with a more direct approach.

"Did you say that to get out of a beatdown with your name carved into it?" Ranger asked.

"Yes. But I also believe your wife _should_ think _you're_ the best out there."

"I wouldn't be Ranger's wife if I didn't," Steph replied. "And he wouldn't have married me and agreed to keep Monroe if he didn't see something equally special in us ... so stop picking on me and bitching about our Rangedog."

No shit ... Monroe had still been glaring at me but snapped his head up and back to smile a pathetic and really jowly grin at her for the compliment and support she just gave him.

She scratched him between the ears and then kissed the spot her hand vacated before she finally sat back down. Ranger returned to his seat with another warning issued to the three of us via a look that made all of our old injuries hurt in remembrance of when he originally caused them.

The flight was quiet after that for a total of thirteen minutes. Monroe had gone to sleep with his massive dome pillowed on Stephanie's sneaker. Ranger and the missus had their seat belts on, but he still kept his arm stretched across Steph's body with his hand tucked against the inside of her knee in case of turbulence. She went with affection for him over protection and had her torso curled into his arm, her fingers linked together over the watch occupying the majority of his wrist. It was sweet in an overkill kind of way. But with Steph, the peaceful scene didn't last long.

"What is it, Babe?" Ranger asked her. "I can hear gears turning and I smell smoke. What are you thinking? And should I be bracing myself for whatever it is?"

"Probably. I was just thinking … since we have our Rangeman entourage already with us, maybe we should stop by my parents' place and get the news-sharing over with. I know Joe went straight to my mother to tell her we were engaged and I'd like her to know that the deal is already done so she doesn't waste her breath or my data trying to convince me to change my mind. I also wanna tell Grandma Mazur in person just so I can see her face as the news sinks in. She's been wanting this for us since you first came to dinner at the house."

"Edna thought the Boss was nice to look at, I'm not sure much beyond his appearance interested her at the time," Santos said.

Steph tsked him. "You just saw what Ranger ... _and Tank,_" she added with a pointed glance my way, "accomplished this past weekend, I don't think it's safe - or very smart - to tease him."

"You don't know half of the shit I've said and done ... and I ain't dead yet. I doubt ribbing Ranger when he's still riding the high of getting you married to him is going to be the thing that does me in. I'm so good, I even got Monroe to eat cake instead of gnawing on my tibia after your knot was securely tied."

He has Julie to thank for that. After she had her Dad stop for a dog bribe, knowing Stephanie pretty well at this point, my by-choice niece wanted to make sure her soon-to-be step mom had access to cake after a traumatic experience like getting married. Julie convinced Ranger that a wedding ... even a quick, thrown-together one like we managed, needed cake. Being short on time, the two bought two cakes at the nearby grocery store. One was a sheet cake that was generically-decorated with white frosting and rainbow sprinkles. And once the actual ceremony was over with, Julie and I disappeared into the kitchen with both bought desserts and put the six-inch round cake, with its top covered in blue roses, onto the large rectangle to act as a impromptu multiple-layered wedding cake.

Lester had cut off a slab of it, put it on a plate for the hound and backed slowly away as if he knew Monroe was planning to exact revenge on him for the wedding finery he'd been forced into. I had to admit, it was a solid plan since Steph, Julie, and Monroe had huddled together at - or near - the kitchen table to top off the event by scarfing down cake.

Steph had the same thing for breakfast this morning, which is likely why she appears calm despite the suggestion of seeing her mother. The sugar and hydrogenated oils have lulled her into a false sense of security.

"I wouldn't get too cocky, Santos," Ranger wisely advised. "You can be taken out at any time by either me or the dog."

"Keep that threat in mind," Steph told him. "_That's_ the attitude I need to be projecting when we reach the Burg."

"You don't need attitude, Steph," I told her, "when you have _us_."

"Yeah, we got your six. _Always_," Bobby promised.

"If you or Ranger are put in the crosshairs," Lester added, "we're moving in. And we aren't going to apologize for it."

That wasn't just talk. When we landed, our small motorcade pulled out from the airstrip and headed without delay to the Plum home.

"You've got to be shitting me," Steph said, when we all parked and filed out of the small fleet of vehicles waiting for us. "I knew Morelli would have been in contact with my mom, but I didn't think the jerk would've moved in while we were gone."

I can almost guarantee the six of us were thinking the same thing, just with varying degrees of violence tacked onto the visual, when we saw that Morelli's little putt-putt truck was parked next to Helen's Buick.

"If he wasn't already loitering in the neighborhood waiting for you to appear, Babe, your mother would have called him over. They both knew they had limited time to make a plan to end our engagement."

She actually laughed and then adjusted Monroe's leash in her hand so she could go up on tiptoes to kiss the Boss.

"Hah," she said as she pulled back, an uncomfortably-confident smile on her face. "Too late for that one. We ended our engagement on our own terms with the perfect wedding _for us_. You know, I'm now really looking forward to telling them our news." She looked down at the mutt. "Remember, Monroe. Morellis will cause food poisoning, so no chomping on this one ... _yet_." She glanced at us. "Are you guys ready to crash a party?"

Lester risked pissing Ranger and the hound off by slinging an arm around her shoulders.

"We don't _crash _parties, Steph. We show up and make them better."

Monroe growled, or that could've been Ranger as he freed his wife by shoving Santos' arm off of her and his body completely away from hers.

She was still smiling hard at the Boss when she opened the door to her parents' house. We were right behind Ranger who wasn't about to let her walk into a dangerous situation alone.

"How'd ya know I needed help and the troops brought in? Those two have been schemin' for _days_ now," Edna informed Stephanie. "Well … who's your little friend here?"

"This is Monroe," she told her grandmother. "You could call him mine and Ranger's fur-baby."

"Fur-_monstrosity_ you mean," I said under my breath.

"I'm gonna order him to lick you to death if you don't knock it off," Steph threatened.

Monroe just bared his fangs at me. In promise of what, I have no fucking idea.

"Are the busybodies in the kitchen?" Steph asked Edna.

"Yup. And boy have you gone and got the two of 'em in one heck of a tizzy. I can't believe the stud muffin here is gonna be my grand-stud muffin soon!"

"Sooner than you think," Ranger told her.

He didn't do anything except say those four words to her, and Grandma Mazur was already blushing and then flushing.

"Don't get blinded by Ranger's charm yet, Grandma. You're gonna want to be fully alert when you see this," Steph told her before glancing at us as she unclipped the leash. "Make yourself comfortable, Guys. Hey, Dad … looks like your house is being invaded _twice_ today. You remember Tank, Bobby, and Lester, right? No one can forget Ranger. And this is Monroe ... who apparently wants a treat, judging by the way he's eyeing the TV and that commercial. _Tank?_"

I narrowed my eyes at her. She knows almost as much as Ranger does, and she's already taken notice that I keep some form of dried meat handy just to keep the beast happy and not chewing on me.

I tossed a Slim Jim into the jaw of life just as the shrew exited the kitchen with the douchebag detective hot on her heels.

"_Stephanie?_ You're home? What are all these men doing here? And what's ... _that_?"

Fuck. Now I'm going to have to actually _like_ the mutt just so I can continue to have nothing in common with the harpy.

"First off, I'm not 'home'. We just stopped here on our way home. This our rescued _Boerboel_, Monroe. He's not a _thing_ or a _that_. People _really_ need to get better acquainted with manners _and_ dog breeds. You remember him ... don't you, Joe? Or were you too busy telling _my _mother other stuff about me that you forgot to mention Monroe? Maybe you were just too embarrassed to share that _he_ scared you almost as much as _Ranger does_?"

"I was afraid _for_ _you_, Cupcake, and I wanted your family to know that you're in over your head so they could step in and help get you out of this mess."

Again, I wasn't sure if the growl I heard was coming from Ranger or Monroe, but I'd guess from the stocky canine body taking flight when Morelli made the mistake of moving a half-inch closer to Stephanie, Cujo's the snarler.

Knowing what he's capable of, his actions may have been just to put the fucker in his place, because the mutt only tore half of Morelli's sleeve off his body. To rub it in, Monroe kept the material in his mouth and continued his growl around it while giving the cop the look he usually reserves for me.

"_He's dangerous!_" Helen shrieked. "_Stephanie, you get him out of this house this very minute!_"

I couldn't have been prouder of her. Steph shrugged, walked to Monroe and kissed him on his oversized head before addressing the dick.

"You can go on home, Joe," my best friend-in-law deadpanned. "You heard her, my mother clearly wants _you_ to leave."

"Honestly, this is no time for any of your jokes, Stephanie. That thing is vicious and I don't want him here."

"Monroe's a_ good boy_ who doesn't respond well to _bad guys_," Steph informed the room. "I'm definitely not holding that against him."

Ranger pointed his index finger down and Monroe immediately spit out the scrap of plaid and came over to lie down at the couple's feet, his chin chilling out on his paws. Morelli is now beneath his attention, but Ranger and Steph will never be. The cop's shit outta luck here, still not understanding that respect is a two-way street.

"Myself and our dog do not appreciate Stephanie being disrespected," the Boss said to the cop and Steph's momster. "I know you need to tell yourself that Stephanie isn't the intelligent woman we all know she is, Morelli, because then you'll have to admit that she _chose_ me and continues to love _me_ despite what you've told her, but I'm not about to listen to you or her own mother talk shit about her. You both need to smarten up before I shut you up."

"_You tell 'em, Ranger!_" Edna yelled out.

"Thank you," Steph said, not only to Ranger, but also the three of us who moved as one to protectively surround the newly-wed couple.

If the Plums' living room seemed small before, the way the four of us aggressively expanded, ready to defend our girl, made any non-occupied square footage instantly disappear. Steph wasn't taking any of their shit either. She took the leash from Ranger and clipped it back onto Monroe's collar.

"It's alright if you can't appreciate Monroe's or my charm, Mom. We don't care and we weren't staying anyway. I just wanted to tell you not to bother calling or texting me to try to end my engagement to Ranger. After he and Tank won the competition, for the tenth year in a row might I add, Ranger and I got married at his place in Georgia while we could have Julie there with us. We're together and legal now, not that anything would've changed if we had remained engaged for a little longer. By the way, I had such a good time down there ... I'd be willing to relocate if I need to."

"That can't be legal," Morelli said. "There's paperwork involved and documents that need to be filed in the court when you get married."

I gave him a partial grin, knowing this was coming. "I guarantee Ranger's lawyers are the best in the business _and_ in the country. This marriage is airtight. I almost _want_ you to try to dismantle it just so I can watch you die trying."

"Tank's right. Even my license and social security card say Stephanie Manoso now. The state has no issues with the new me, too bad I can't say the same for the people in this house."

"I suggest you treat _my wife _far better than you have been or you're going to be dealing with _me_, not her," Ranger warned his mother-in-law. "I trusted Stephanie to know what she needed in the past, but marrying me gives me the right to step in if I feel she's being mistreated."

"Ranger's not the only one who's extremely protective of Stephanie," I added, crossing my arms over my chest. "You may not like us or the situation, but I'd advise you to keep your bitchin' to yourself about both."

"_Hey! _Look, Tank. You finally earned yourself a Monroe-grin," Steph said, gesturing to the mutt.

His jowls did separate in something that could pass as more than just a tongue-loll, but it appeared more like a by-product of gas than a smile similar to what I've seen him give _her_.

"What a shocker," I said with no change in my tone. "He shelves the stink-eye when I defend you."

"I can't help being so likable," she replied, "I inspire the best of the best to band together."

"You must be _somethin_' if you got hotstuff here to put a ring on it," Edna said. "Let me see that ring."

Steph slipped the leash onto her wrist and then lifted Ranger's arms up and over her chest. She interlaced their fingers so all three pieces of hardware were visible, two diamond-themed ones on Steph and a shiny but otherwise nondescript titanium band on the larger, darker hand holding her.

"I can't believe I married into the family," Edna said in wonder, sliding a bony arm around both Lester and Bobby's waists.

"You did," Steph commented, "as long as you don't scare the guys off. We're going home to tell everybody at Rangeman what we did while we were gone. You can come along and celebrate with us if you want to. That'll leave Mom and Morelli alone to wallow in their mutual misery."

"_Damn skippy!_ Give me a minute to change and put my good teeth in. I just got me a set with a teeny diamond stuck right there in an eyetooth. I've been waitin' for something this big to trot them puppies out for."

She literally hauled ass up the stairs, taking the steps almost two at a time as if we'd leave without her if she didn't double-time it. That activity finally got Frank moving away from the TV.

"You sure about this?" He asked Stephanie.

"It's the only thing I never questioned," she answered. "I'd marry Ranger all over again today … and tomorrow too."

"You're happy with _him_, not _that one_?" He said, pointing first to Ranger and then towards Morelli, who is currently dealing with 'shrinkage' in multiple forms.

Stephanie's the only person I've ever met that can castrate someone without needing any kind of blade.

"I'm _always _happy with - and when I'm near - Ranger. But I'm completely miserable whenever I just hear '_that one's'_ name, never mind seeing him here in my family's house. So to answer your question, I finally did what made _me_ happy."

Frank nodded, his idea of 'fatherly duty' done. "What competition were you talking about? You said something about Ranger winning?"

Steph sighed. Frank wasn't interested in wedding talk, but dangle a physical contest in front of him, and he perks right up.

"It's called 'The Best Ranger Competition'. They don't like to brag, so I'll do it for them. Ranger and Tank have taken home the trophy every year they've entered. And they've entered _every _year for the last decade. Lester, Bobby, you're up. While we wait for Grandma, you can give my Dad the summary you gave me when we were on our way to Georgia."

By the time Edna descended the stairs wearing a bright red 'check me out' dress that now also matches her lips, Frank was leaning forward in his recliner and looking at his son-in-law with new appreciation. In this case, I don't give a fuck if my participation wasn't focused on if it gets one of Steph's parents off their backs. The two of them deserve a break and to be left alone to live the life they so choose.

"You know, Dad. We have actual footage of the event," Steph told him. "I admit, almost all of what isn't professionally recorded for informational or recruiting purposes, is of Ranger and Tank. It's what I could catch fast enough with my phone. I'll warn you ahead of time, _my _videos are jumpy because I got _a little_ excited when I spotted them and couldn't for the life of me keep still, but they are worth watching just the same so you can see how close to superheroes Ranger and Tank are. You can come along with Grandma and watch the competition in almost real time. One of the guys can give you two a lift back, maybe even after dinner if you'd like to stay and enjoy a mini-reception that I'm betting Ella will want to throw for us."

"The game's a repeat," Mr. Plum said as Edna got her and likely his coat. "I wouldn't mind watching something new."

Edna looped an arm through Frank's once they were fitted for travel. "We're gonna have us _a party!_"

Lester got the door for the two of them, and Bobby followed Frank and Grandma Mazur through it. I stayed behind with Ranger and Steph and of course the mutt who wouldn't leave them by choice.

"We'll leave you to enjoy your talk," Steph told her mother. "I'm sorry you can't be happy for us, but I'm not going to dwell on it. We've all made our choices and I really love mine. It's sad that you'll never see what's missing in your own lives that makes you fixate on mine."

"Keep this in mind," Ranger added, "my legal team is now _Stephanie's_. _You _come after _her_, _they'll _go after _you_. You believe I'm ruthless ... and you couldn't be more right about that when it comes to protecting my own. Come on, Babe. Let's get back to where we belong."


End file.
